


Cassette Tape Theories

by MysticV



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Gen, theory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 10:05:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16490516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticV/pseuds/MysticV
Summary: My thoughts on the cassette tapes scattered across the studio.





	1. Chapter 1

There are many cassette tapes across the different floors of the studio. Some seem to be deliberately made and some seem to be candid in nature. I believe that the tapes are manifestations of the memories that the Ink Machine has taken from the workers as they’ve been changed.

 

First are the “candid” tapes. They contain information such as Wally eating the cake, Sammy saying how to get into his sanctuary, and the various complaints the workers have against each other. These are things that they wouldn’t deliberately have recorded because these are things they wouldn’t want to be heard. Can you imagine the kind of drama it would have caused if Joey or Sammy found one of the tapes about what others thought of them? Like Wally said about his keys and Sammy finding out he lost them. Why would he leave a physical record that Sammy could find?  
These are thoughts given manifestation by the Ink Machine. They sound like they’re directly talking to the audience because that is how the cartoon world works when characters are thinking.

The tape that Sammy has in the start of chapter 2 is unique in that it was created after he was changed, but the loop actually solves that problem. If Sammy actually was killed by Bendy and reborn from the Ink inbetween chapters 2 and 5, a memory could have been taken and given manifestation. The memory would be kept in the Ink like all the others, so it wouldn’t disappear with the start of a new loop.

Henry’s tape is also part of this if you believe the theory that Henry is becoming more of a toon with each death/loop. His tape is in a part of the studio that wouldn’t have been built until after he left the company. Again his tape isn’t something he wouldn’t want found because of his criticisms of Joey; so it is a ‘candid’. So how does that tape exist? I think it’s a memory that the Ink Machine took at some point in a previous loop.

Joey Drew’s tapes would not make sense since he is not a toon right? Unless his tapes are memories of the people he was talking to at the time. There appear to be only two tapes that he deliberately made, the final tape and the tape by the projectionist. The tape by the projectionist can be explained as being the memory of whoever he’s talking to. But the final tape leaves me in a slump.


	2. Theory 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My 2nd theory on the tapes

My second theory is that the tapes were deliberately made. This one is more farfetched because it requires Joey planning on making the Ink Machine from the very start of the studio if we count Henry’s tape. Or Henry could have had a thing for making audio diaries.

Part of the magic of the Ink Machine is that it required ‘donations’ from the various departments to get it started. If you’ve paid attention to folklore about objects containing part of the spirit of their owners, you can see where these objects bring the machine to life. The tapes play a part in this. They contain a moment of life from these people. 

The gallons of ink put into the machine are the mechanical part of the machine but the machine went through a lot of it. It should make sense that the machine would use a lot of ‘life’ too.

Joey could have gotten his workers in the habit of leaving audio diaries. He is a very charismatic character, so this theory is completely out there. Joey would then seek out the tapes and sacrifice them to the machine to give it magic. Joey didn’t start with sacrificing his workers, that came later. After he started sacrificing the workers, he didn’t need the tapes anymore. That’s why there’s actually what could be considered a small amount of tapes in the studio. 

The tapes that we hear are the ones that Joey fed to the Ink Machine. We are in a world created by the Ink Machine, so the machine uses the material it was fed to create the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I welcome comments that poke holes and fill gaps in my theories

**Author's Note:**

> I welcome comments that poke holes or can fill gaps in my theories.


End file.
